Migration, Migrantion and even more- 22/9/13 garden sightings

Today has been absolutely amazing for migration with loads to see. Although the weather was overcast there were still lots of migrants a little lower than usual meaning it was easier to count them. I went outside into my garden at 9:00 and came back in, to go to see the high tide, at 10:40. I had already seen 20 species of birds they were:

9:00- 10:40 sightings
In the trees

• A robin
• 10+ house sparrows
• 1 blue tit
• 1 great tit
• 1 Coal tit calling
• 1 male blackbird- returning resident
• 4 goldfinches
• Collard doves
• Wood pigeon
• 1 chaffinch

Flying over

• Corvids- rooks, carrion crows, jackdaws
• 1 magpie
• Several lesser black backed gulls
• 3 chaffinches
• 1 great spotted woodpecker- 1st of Autumn

Visable migration flying over

• Common gulls
• 2 pied wagtails
• 3 linnets- calling
• 10 meadow pipits- flock of 4,1,2,1,2
• 28 house martins- passing through higher with the swallows staying a little longer than the swallows feeding singly.
• 129 SWALLOWS- constant flow with groups ranging from 2- 15 being sighted. They were coming from the North West and heading down to the South East very low feeding on the flying insects at around tree height and just above the houses.

Opposite house

• 31 feral pigeons
• Wood pigeons
• 2 collard doves
• 4 jackdaws

After coming back from the high tide I decided to go out in the garden again and see how many migrants I could see.
12:00- 12:50 sightings

• A great tit calling
• A blue tit
• 2 robins singing
• Collard doves
• House sparrows
• Same birds on opposite house and trees

Goldfinch

Great tit

                                                                       House sparrow female

Flying over (plus visible migration)

• 81 SWALLOWS- 110 birds in 150mins
• 1 pied wagtail
• 3 common gulls
• 5 Skylarks- 1st of autumn (2,2,1) Noticeably higher fliers than the meadow pipits. 
• magpie
• Black headed gulls
• 26 Meadow pipits- (15+,2,7,1,1) A huge flock of 15+ flew over together calling going south. 36 in total after 150mins

Then after yet another get migration moment I came inside and had some lunch and watched from my window for any migrants. This time there wasn't a lot so I stopped watching until the evening.

12:50- 13:00 sightings

Flying over (visible migration)

• 4 meadow pipits- (4) A record 40 in total after 160mins
• 1 sparrowhawk came down very low between the houses scaring all the starlings and feral pigeons and I believe it caught something and flew off towards the school with it's prey.

18:22- 18:30

• 28 SWALLOWS- A record 232 altogether in 168mins.
• 2 common gulls
• 9 house martins- Overall 37 recorded.